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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26939347">KAITOU AND BEER</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/wayvbabey/pseuds/wayvbabey'>wayvbabey</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>NCT HALLOWEEN SERIES: NCT Dream [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>NCT (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Fluff, Halloween</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 16:49:25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,252</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26939347</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/wayvbabey/pseuds/wayvbabey</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After a wild Halloween party gets busted by the cops you have no choice but to hide. Unfortunately, you pick the exact same hiding spot as the class president, Jaemin, and he looks dashing dressed up as Kaito kid.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Na Jaemin/Reader</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>NCT HALLOWEEN SERIES: NCT Dream [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1956091</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>43</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>KAITOU AND BEER</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>-</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Being the designated bartender at a party is not cool.</p><p> </p><p>For a start, no-one is interested in you beyond getting a drink. You’re not even the host of this thing, but you’ve found yourself reaching into an unfamiliar fridge and bringing out bottle after bottle, shoving them into people’s hands in order to get them away from you.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, thanks!”</p><p> </p><p>It’s the first sign of gratitude you’ve gotten all evening, apart from the obligatory ‘thank you for coming’ that Yunah, the host of the party, had said to you when you’d first stepped through the door.</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t mention it,” you reply to the guy, taking in his costume as he walks away, popping open the cap and dropping it into the floor. He’s gone as Jack Sparrow, by the looks of it, though the infamous hat is evidently lacking.</p><p> </p><p>You’re not in a place to judge though, because you’ve hardly bothered to dress up at all. Despite Yunah emphasizing that this was going to be a <em>costume</em> party, you had neither the effort nor time to go outfit hunting, which had resulted in you telling her that you’d dressed up as an innocent bystander waiting to die. It wasn’t your proudest moment but it also wasn’t exactly a lie, so she had no choice but to reluctantly allow you in.</p><p> </p><p>In truth, you weren’t having a bad time. It was just that everyone around you was so drunk that it was making you painfully aware of how sober you were. Your 'friends’- people you occasionally spoke to in school -were busy either drinking or socialising with their <em>real</em> friends, meaning you were all alone.</p><p> </p><p>You weren’t fussed though. You’d rather be left alone.</p><p> </p><p>Since every other room was full of drunk people dancing to the obnoxiously loud music, you were left to hover about in the kitchen. Yunah’s first floor was free but it was sort of an unspoken rule that you didn't go upstairs during a house party, so you were trapped downstairs.</p><p> </p><p>Noise from outside causes you to glance out the window. Sure enough, a large group has spilt into her backyard, leaving empty red solo cups in their wake. You quietly survey them as they jump around to some obnoxiously loud music, sighing loudly once a few people stumble to the ground.</p><p> </p><p>“You the girl giving out beers?”</p><p> </p><p>An unfamiliar boy is hovering nervously near you, looking from the fridge to your face as if he’s asking for silent permission. He sways slightly as he stands, the only indication that he’s had more than he should, but you’re not one to judge. Swinging open the fridge, you take the last beer off the shelf and offer it to him, watching as he takes it and staggers out of the room.</p><p> </p><p>You cast a glance at the fridge. It’s only a matter of time before people look for more drinks and once they realise there are none in the fridge, you’re sure that they’ll blame you for it. After all, you’re the one handing them out.</p><p> </p><p>But this won’t be your problem. It’s Yunah’s party.</p><p> </p><p>The only problem is you have no idea where she’s gone.</p><p> </p><p>You suppress a groan as you leave your station in the kitchen and make your way into the heart of the party. As soon as you go into the next room, you realise you’ve made a mistake. People are jumping and shouting alongside the music, their drinks sloshing as they clutch them to their chests. Staggering back to avoid the flailing limbs of what looks to be a girl dressed up as a devil, you end up bumping into a guy dressed as a werewolf, who grins down at you suggestively. Once again, you’re reminding of the painfully sober state you’re currently in.</p><p> </p><p>Debating whether or not to elbow him in the gut for his leery expression, you end up slipping past him and powering through the crowd until you reach the hallway.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Fuck,</em>” you curse to yourself, seeing a dark, foul-smelling stain in the carpet. The stench is enough to burn the inside of your nostrils until you bury your nose into your elbows. This must be the reason why no-one is in the hallway.</p><p> </p><p>You weigh up your options. You can either check out the second room, which looks as full or if not <em>more</em> full than the one you’ve just come out of, or you can go upstairs, something you don’t want to do but now it seems like you don’t have much of a choice.</p><p> </p><p>Shouts erupt from the second room. You quickly make your choice.</p><p> </p><p>Most of the doors are shut as you climb up the stairs, probably to prevent people from going in them. You tongue your cheek, debating whether or not to knock on the doors before biting the bullet and heading to the one closest to you.</p><p> </p><p>“Yunah?”</p><p> </p><p>“Go away!” A deep voice responds and you shrink back, mortified. You can only think of one reason why someone would go upstairs at a party and if what you think is true, then you’ve essentially just ruined the mood.</p><p> </p><p>You move onto the next one, hesitating longer this time before repeating the same process. Thankfully, no-one replies.</p><p> </p><p>At this point you are parallel to the stairs, having done two rooms out of five. Above Yunah’s front door is a big glass window and outside you can see some people on her front lawn, drinks in hand.</p><p> </p><p>You can also see the red and blue lights flashing in the distance, gradually getting bigger.</p><p> </p><p>“Shit,” you swear softly, biting down hard on your lip and squinting to get a better view.</p><p> </p><p>There’s no doubt about it. It’s the police.</p><p> </p><p>This isn’t your first time having the police come to a party you’ve been at, but it is the first time they’ve come to a party where you’ve been unintentionally serving alcohol. </p><p> </p><p>There’s bound to be minors here, and you don’t want to spend Halloween behind bars.</p><p> </p><p>Judging by the shouts and the abrupt end to the music, everyone else has caught sight of them too. You watch as the people below you run for the exits, trampling over the vomit stain on the carpet and spilling out the front door, creating a panic-induced stampede. Some head for the stairs, pushing past you and heading into the rooms. You watch as someone bolts into the room you had almost intruded upon and a second later hear some confused shouts from inside.</p><p> </p><p>You know from experience that hiding isn’t the way to go. But then again, running away isn’t either. Turning over your options in your mind, you let out a sigh, poking your tongue into your cheek and then heading into a room that you haven’t seen anyone else enter yet: the one at the end of the hall.</p><p> </p><p>Just like you’d assumed, there’s no-one inside You haven’t turned on any lights in order to conceal yourself but the flashing red and blue lights from outside illuminate the room.</p><p> </p><p>Not only that, but they also reveal to you that there is a large tree outside the window. Carefully walking over to it, you peer outside and scope it out.</p><p> </p><p>If you can’t run or hide, then you’ll need to do a mixture of both.</p><p> </p><p>Mentally apologising to Yunah’s parents, you clamber into their wardrobe, the only thing in the room that you’re able to use as a hiding space. It’s big enough for you to sit down comfortably but you huddle up, manipulating the clothes so that they cover your body entirely, obscuring you from sight. When you’re satisfied that you’re hidden well enough, you begin to focus on your breathing, steadying it as you listen to the commotion outside.</p><p> </p><p>The noises haven’t died down which you guess means people are still trying to run away. There are thumps and bumps throughout the house as people hurriedly move about and you strain your ears to see if you can hear anything else. The more you listen though, the quieter it gets, until there is a lull throughout the house.</p><p> </p><p>It comes out of nowhere and a shriek bubbles up in your throat as you see something coming towards you through the clothes. You expect to be grabbed and hauled out, but a moment later something collides with you and then the light is abruptly cut off, leaving you in the darkness once again.</p><p> </p><p>You flail around to try and shake off whatever has just landed on you, only stopping once you hear a suspiciously human-like cry of pain as your foot collides with something soft.</p><p>Has someone just got in the wardrobe with you?</p><p>“What the fuck are you doing?” You hiss angrily into the darkness, consumed by panic and fear. By now you know the police are most certainly here and if this person disrupts your plan, you’re screwed.</p><p> </p><p>“Hiding!” A panicked, low voice murmurs in reply, so quiet that you figure they must be trying to catch their breath. “The same as you.”</p><p> </p><p>You’re momentarily taken aback, firstly because the voice belongs to a boy, and secondly because it sounds quite familiar, although you can’t picture their face.</p><p> </p><p>“Who is this?” You ask unsurely. Is it someone you’ve handed a drink to this evening, or maybe someone you know from school?</p><p> </p><p>“You don’t know me?” The person’s voice is laced with confusion and you wrack your brain, desperate to try and find out who it is. “I’m the class president.”</p><p> </p><p>“That means nothing to me.” You snap back, irritated by their answer. You have no idea who your class president is. Hell, you have no idea who half the people in your school are.</p><p> </p><p>“How can you not know?! I’m Jaemin. <em>Na Jaemin</em>- does that ring any bells?”</p><p> </p><p>You make a small hum of realisation. The name is familiar but you still can’t picture his face. “You entered the school talent show last year and got banned for insulting a teacher, right? And then I think you also tried to ask out Minji one time in the lunch hall, and she rejected you really badly. Are you that Na Jaemin?”</p><p> </p><p>Everyone has heard of Na Jaemin at some point, mostly because he pulls the most ridiculous stunts and ends up getting away with it.</p><p> </p><p>“How can you only remember my negative moments?” Jaemin replies incredulously. “Can you not remember when I convinced the principal to give us extra exam leave. Did you conveniently forget that?”</p><p> </p><p>Despite the darkness, you roll your eyes at him. “I don’t care what you’ve done, just get out.”</p><p> </p><p>To emphasize your point, you reach your leg out and prod him gently, an incentive for him to leave.</p><p> </p><p>“What are you doing?” He hisses angrily, shuffling about until you can no longer touch him.</p><p> </p><p>“You need to leave. I got here first!”</p><p> </p><p>“So?” He snorts, annoyance lacing his tone. You dart your leg out again to try and get him to keep the volume down, and he lets out a soft cry of pain when it makes contact with him. “What the hell is wrong with you? Have you never heard of sharing?”</p><p> </p><p>“Keep your voice down! You’re going to get the both of us caught, and I was here first, so go and find someone else to get into trouble.”</p><p> </p><p>“Fine!” He snaps. “I’ll leave, and when they find me, I’ll let them know <em>just</em> where to look. How does that sound, you moody bitch?”</p><p> </p><p>Your mouth drops open, leg half bent as you prepare to beat the shit out of him, police be damned. “<em>What</em> did you just call me?”</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t know,” comes his hushed reply and you’re even more confused to hear the shock in his voice. “I can’t believe I just called you that- I’m so sorry. It, it’s just been a <em>bad</em> night, okay? Someone made me do a keg stand earlier and I got rejected, <em>again</em>, by a girl who I thought liked me, and now I’m taking it out on a random stranger.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh,” you mutter quietly, perplexed by the sudden onslaught of information. You hear Jaemin’s intake of breath, as if he’s about to speak again, but then loud voices catch your attention. The police are in the house.</p><p> </p><p>And you need to leave before they find you.</p><p> </p><p>“Well, it was nice to meet you. I’m going to forget you told me any of that to preserve your dignity, Na Jaemin.” You tell him, hauling yourself to your feet with a small grunt. However, as soon as you put pressure on your ankle, the pins and needles cause you to go jolting forward. Somehow you manage to stretch out your arms to stop your fall and you luckily only hit the wardrobe wall. </p><p> </p><p>You freeze, listening out to see if anyone’s heard you.</p><p> </p><p>“Um,” comes Jaemin’s voice. Or rather- you <em>feel</em> his breath on your cheek. “You’re very close.”</p><p> </p><p>Your eyes widen as you realise you must be right on top of him. “Sorry!” You scoot back frantically before finally pushing open the door. You’d rather take your chances with the police than stay in that wardrobe with him any longer. “I have to go-”</p><p> </p><p>“What are you doing?” With the light now entering the wardrobe you can faintly make out two brown orbs staring at you, filled with concern. “They’ll find you!”</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll be fine,” you reply firmly. “It was, um, nice meeting you.”</p><p> </p><p>Then you exit the wardrobe and close the door in his face.</p><p> </p><p>Or you <em>think</em> you do.</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t understand.” Jaemin’s voice rings out clear only a second later, just as you’re headed towards the window. “How are you going to get out if they’re downstairs?”</p><p> </p><p>You turn around with your finger over your lips, prepared to shush him, but upon coming face-to-face with him you fall silent.</p><p> </p><p>If you’d have seen Jaemin before you’d spoken to him, you would've <em>definitely</em> recognised him. His face is not one that’s easy to forget, and you’ve seen him far too many times around in the school hallways to be able to remove him from your memory.</p><p> </p><p>He’s not only Na Jaemin, the class president, but he’s also the guy who most people have dubbed 'the prettiest boy in school’.</p><p> </p><p>Not only that, but he’s dressed in the most <em>ridiculous</em> costume.</p><p> </p><p>On his head is a white hat with a blue ribbon around it. The two colours seem to be a recurring theme in his outfit as he wears a blue shirt with a white suit on top of it. He has matching white pants, too, and the outfit is finished off with a red tie and a monocle over his right eye.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Oh,</em>” a wide, toothy smile overtakes his face. In the same way you’re observing him, he’s doing the same to you, running his eyes up and down your body until he finally recognises you. “You’re Y/N. Nice costume, by the way.”</p><p> </p><p>“Why the fuck do you look like an overenthusiastic car salesman?” You deadpan, glancing from him to the door. His outfit makes him look so loud, so bold that you’re afraid his mere presence will draw the police to him like a dog and a bone.</p><p> </p><p>The smile drops off his face. “Why are you so <em>mean</em>?” He hisses, eyebrows knitting together. “I’m Kaitou Kid!”</p><p> </p><p>“Kaitou <em>who?</em>” You repeat, confused, but the sound of growing voices causes you to stiffen up. You don’t have time to be making conversation with him. “Get back in the wardrobe, Jaemin.”</p><p> </p><p>“But where are <em>you</em> going?” He argues, stepping closer as you retreat to the window. The realisation must dawn on him because he says nothing for a moment, eyes flickering from you to the glass as his mouth drops open.</p><p> </p><p>“Y/N, I’m the class president. I can’t let you hurl yourself out a window.”</p><p> </p><p>“Then get back in the wardrobe and pretend you didn’t see me.” You retort, turning around to undo the latch. Thankfully it’s unlocked, meaning you can gently pull it open with ease. “When the police find you, say you were waiting in here for your parents to pick you up and the shouting scared you.”</p><p> </p><p>“If I can say that, why do <em>you</em> have to leave?” He watches curiously as you try to figure out the safest way to get down.</p><p> </p><p>“Because,” you turn to him. “Everyone’ll point the finger at me. I was the bartender tonight.”</p><p> </p><p>He frowns. “I thought Donghyuck was giving out the vodka shots?”</p><p> </p><p>“I was the beers, idiot.”</p><p> </p><p>“Ah,” he hums. Then he goes quiet for a moment.</p><p> </p><p>“Let me come with you.”</p><p> </p><p>“No.” You glare at him, shutting down the idea instantly. “No way. Sorry, but you look like you’d trip out this window and faceplant the floor. I don’t want to be responsible for your inevitable coma.”</p><p> </p><p>“But I’m in a costume! They’ll know I’m part of this.” He edges forward and you shrink up against the glass. “Please?”</p><p> </p><p>Something about his endearing puppy eyes gets to you, despite the fact they’re behind his ridiculous monocle. You can’t just leave him here.</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll wait for you at the bottom,” you relent after a moment of consideration. “If you’re not out in ten seconds, I’m leaving.”</p><p> </p><p>His face lights up and you shift your eyes away nervously, turning your attention back to the window.</p><p> </p><p>“Thanks, Y/N!” You hear him call. “Show me how it’s done.”</p><p> </p><p>You don’t reply and instead swing your legs so that you’re sitting on the window ledge, taking in a breath and surveying the tree and the drop to the floor. Now it’s really happening there’s a ball of nerves in your stomach, but you don’t have any other choice. It doesn’t help that you know Jaemin is behind you, watching eagerly.</p><p> </p><p>Grabbing onto the ledge with one of your arms, you anchor yourself using your hand and the soles of your feet against the house, before beginning to lean forward. You can only stay there for less than a second because of the weight imbalance, but it’s all you need.</p><p> </p><p>While gravity tries to pull you down you push off from the wall, which sends you hurtling through the air until you hit a branch.</p><p> </p><p>The impact knocks the air out of you and the abrupt collision has your head swinging, but you remain clinging onto the thick branch. When you’re finally sure you’re not going to fall you manage to open your eyes and see where you are.</p><p> </p><p>The ground isn’t as far away anymore but it still takes you a second to recover and work up the nerve to let go and drop down onto the grass. When you do you let the impact absorb through your knees, staying in a crouch until you feel you’re able to stand again.</p><p> </p><p>There isn’t time to waste. When you look up, Jaemin is peering down at you nervously from the window.</p><p> </p><p>“Hurry up!” You wheeze, before looking around to see if anyone’s seen your escape. Luckily, the police cars must be stationed right in front of the house, because you can’t see any from the side where you are.</p><p> </p><p>Jaemin makes a panicked noise, drawing your attention to him.</p><p> </p><p>“I can hear them on the other side of the door.” He whimpers. You can only just make out the fear on his face and your hands itch to do something to help, like help him down yourself. But from here, you can only guide him.</p><p> </p><p>“Then jump!” You hiss.</p><p> </p><p>And he does.</p><p> </p><p>Albeit, it’s a lot less graceful than you, but he manages to catch a hold of the branch, hanging there to kill his momentum before dropping down. </p><p> </p><p>His landing is rough but you don’t have time to see if he’s okay or not, although worry does gnaw at you. Instead, you dart forward and grab his hand, securing it tightly in your own before dragging him up and making a break for it. </p><p> </p><p>You tear down the sidewalk and don’t look back, not even to see if anyone has spotted you. All you focus on for the next few minutes is putting one foot in front of the other as fast as possible and keeping a tight grip on Jaemin. At first, he had stumbled along beside you, but now the two of you are neck and neck, feet moving in rhythm as you eat up the concrete.</p><p> </p><p>He is the only to slow down first and the pulling on your hand eventually catches your attention. You force yourself to slow down until the two of you are at a walk and you suck in lungfuls of air gratefully, finally letting go of Jaemin’s hand.</p><p> </p><p>“Did we lose them?” Jaemin pants from beside you. Turning to look at him you see he’s bent over with his hands on his knees, breathing deeply, still recovering.</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t think they were chasing us to begin with.” You reply. “But they’ll probably be cruising around later on to try and pick up any stragglers, so we should get off the streets as soon as possible.”</p><p> </p><p>“You’re right,” he finally straightens up before looking at you, eyes running up and down like they did before, but this time, you realise he’s probably checking you for any injuries as if he himself hadn’t hit the ground hard and then been forced to run for ten minutes.</p><p> </p><p>“Are you okay?” You blink cautiously, trying to get his attention off you. It’s an unusual feeling.</p><p> </p><p>“Me? I’m fine.” He meets your eyes and gives a small smile, something you can’t help but mirror. Laughter comes soon after, as you realise that you might have just done it. Your crazy plan had worked.</p><p> </p><p>“I can’t believe we did that,” you giggle, biting down on your lip to try and stop your laughter.</p><p> </p><p>“Neither,” Jaemin smiles, amusement flickering in his eyes. “I don’t know if anyone else would be crazy enough to think of that and then pull it off.”</p><p> </p><p>“I was desperate,” you grin, before finally taking in your surroundings. The area you’re in doesn’t ring any bells in your head but you know you can’t have gone far. You just need to walk until you find something you recognise.</p><p> </p><p>“So,” Jaemin trails off and you focus your attention on him. He’s doing the same as you had been, looking around. “Where do you live? I’ll walk you home.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m fine, thanks.” You reply immediately. The thought of walking with Jaemin, alone, now it was just the two of you, caused an uncomfortable feeling inside you.</p><p> </p><p>“So I’m supposed to let you just walk home on your own?” He replies stubbornly, jutting out his chin. “No way. I’ll follow you if I have to.”</p><p> </p><p>“Suit yourself,” you shrug, brushing past him. Evidently, Jaemin hadn’t expected your prolonged resistance because you can hear him sighing tiredly behind you, and a second later his footsteps echo on the cement.</p><p> </p><p>Luckily, he can’t see your frustrated expression. Now that your pride has won out, you’re going to have to pretend you know where you’re going, even if you secretly have no idea.</p><p> </p><p>“Just so you know,” Jaemin calls out in a smug voice. “If you want to get to the center of the town, you need to take the next left. At the moment you’re going to be heading towards the train station.”</p><p> </p><p>“And how do you know that?” You snap at him.</p><p> </p><p>“Because I’ve walked down her before. And I also actually know where I’m going.” He quickly darts forward and grasps the hem of your sweater, guiding you so that you do, in fact, take a left. But he doesn’t stop there, instead pulling you closer so that the two of you are walking side by side.</p><p> </p><p>“You don’t make things easy, you know that?” He jabs, grinning down at you.</p><p> </p><p>“Neither do you,” is your snarky reply, shivering as a cold gust of wind passes you by.</p><p> </p><p>Jaemin falls silent after that. However, you soon feel a warm weight being draped over your shoulder. When you look over at Jaemin, you find he’s shed his ridiculous white jacket and draped it over you.</p><p> </p><p>“What?” He says defensively, glancing away as soon as he feels you looking at him. “If I look like I’m not in any sort of costume then maybe the cops will pass us by. Don’t think I’m doing it for any other reason.”</p><p> </p><p>“I won’t.” You force down a smile and instead try not to focus too much on the residue of warmth Jaemin’s jacket gives off, and the scent of is cologne that clings to the lapel. “By the way, if you took off the hat and tie, it would be much more convincing.”</p><p> </p><p>“Right,” he mutters, following your instruction and starting to loosen his tie into the pocket of his pants.</p><p> </p><p>You glance at him once again, wondering how, in only the space of a few seconds, he’s become even more attractive. Now that he’s stripped down his costume he looks gentler, softer around the edges. Without his hat, you can see his soft brown locks, shaped messily so that a few strands fall gently in front of his eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“New Street.”</p><p> </p><p>“Huh?” He looks down at you from where he’s halfway through loosening his tie. You lean over and knock his hands away, unable to meet his gaze as you begin to work the tie out of its knot.</p><p> </p><p>“I live on New Street.” You elaborate, “It’s the other side of town, so I don’t want you going out of your way to walk me home. I’ve done it before, I’ll be fine.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m not going out of my way,” he murmurs softly and you realise the two of you have stopped walking. His tie finally comes off but you’re frozen, hands till near his neck white you can feel his gentle breaths hitting the top of your head.</p><p> </p><p>As quickly as the moment has come, it abruptly ends. You jump back and the tie follows, causing you to duck your head and shove the tie into his chest.</p><p> </p><p>“I’ve undone your tie,” you gesture to it before hurrying away.</p><p> </p><p>“Thanks!” He catches up easily, seemingly unfazed by what’s just happened but you can’t bring yourself to reply so the two of you fall into silence for a moment.</p><p> </p><p>Something about walking alongside Jaemin now feels too intimate, so you speak again, desperate to make the quietness go away.</p><p> </p><p>“So why were you at the party?” You ask him, mentally cursing yourself for asking such a random question.</p><p> </p><p>“Well, first of all, I was invited,” he snorts, “and second, it was either that or spend the night at the haunted house, which I really didn’t want to do.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah. I heard it was… intense.” You murmur. “But your costume was good.”</p><p> </p><p>“You think so?” You roll your eyes after hearing the pride in his tone. </p><p> </p><p>“Maybe a little overdone.”</p><p> </p><p>“You said it was good! You can’t take that back!”</p><p> </p><p>His petulant tone causes a grin to flicker onto your face. “Whatever.”</p><p> </p><p>“So how come you ended up giving out drinks all night? I didn’t know you were friends with Yunah.”</p><p> </p><p>You sigh. “We’re not close friends. I did a project with her a while back and we just say hello to each other in the corridors. Nothing special.”</p><p> </p><p>“I see,” he hums. “So who do you hang out with?”</p><p> </p><p>“Is that some sort of trick question to see if I’m a loner or not?” You scoff, raising a brow at him.</p><p> </p><p>“I didn’t mean it like that!” He backpedals, raising his hands. “I just meant, I always see you in the corridors but never really around anyone. I only knew of you because I see you around sometimes.”</p><p> </p><p>“At least you know of me,” you fiddle with the hems of his jacket. “Though it is a bit weird that you do.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m the class president,” he shrugs. “I have to know most people.”</p><p> </p><p>“That makes sense,” you nod. “You have to be able to put names to faces.”</p><p> </p><p>“Well, yes- but that’s not the only reason I know of you!” He replies and you send him a look due to the urgency in his tone. </p><p> </p><p>“I don’t care either way,” you shrug. The sound of a car engine catches your attention and upon glancing up you see a police cruiser heading your way. Acting on instinct you curl up into Jaemin’s side.</p><p> </p><p>“Pretend we’re a couple!” You hiss.</p><p> </p><p>“Wait, what? Why?” He protests, but places an arm around you nevertheless.</p><p> </p><p>“We’ll look less suspicious this way. Don’t look at them as they pass.” You instruct, before falling silent and staring straight ahead.</p><p> </p><p>Though you’re trying to remain casual your breath hitches as the car gets closer. Jaemin must notice because he applies more pressure at your waist, effectively anchoring you to him so you don’t miss a step. His hand is all you can focus on as if it’s burning a hole through your clothes. By the time you’ve come to your senses, the car has passed, and his hand is slipping away.</p><p> </p><p>“Nicely done,” you murmur, moving away to walk by his side.</p><p> </p><p>“Thanks,” he replies, just as quiet.</p><p> </p><p>The remainder of the walk to your house is filled with conversation about anything and everything, from how the two of you haven’t met each other at school to what your likes and dislikes are.</p><p> </p><p>The more you talk with Jaemin, the more you find yourself falling under his spell. He’s easy to get along with, easy to open up to, and someone you finally feel comfortable being around. Though you know the two of you are from vastly different social circles you don’t feel as if he’s any different from you, and that fact alone makes your heart beat just a little faster.</p><p> </p><p>“Well,” you say wistfully once your house comes into view. “This is me.”</p><p> </p><p>“Already?” Jaemin mutters, and you laugh at the shock in his voice.</p><p> </p><p>“Already,” you confirm, before smiling up at him. “Thanks for walking me home.”</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t mention it,” he raises a hand to his neck and looks away sheepishly. “It was the least I could do after tonight. Plus, I’ve really enjoyed talking to you.”</p><p> </p><p>“Me too,” you admit softly, still looking at him. After hearing your response Jaemin turns to look at you, and suddenly it seems as if the two of you are the only two people in the world. Caught up in the moment, you find yourself inching closer, unable to focus on anything but Jaemin.</p><p> </p><p>You’re unaware that he’s doing the same until your lips meet his. It’s soft, gentle, and you melt into him when his hands fall against your waist, holding you steady as you inch closer to him.</p><p> </p><p>Eventually, the two of you have to pull away but when you do you remain inches from each other, breaths melding together as you slowly regain air. When you dare to look up at him, you find he’s smiling.</p><p> </p><p>“Was that a ‘thank you’ for walking you home?” He whispers, eyes soft as he looks down at you. “Can I get another one?”</p><p> </p><p>“Only if you meet me tomorrow,” you bring your hand up between the middle of you, pinky finger sticking out, and he traces a line up your arm before sealing the promise, hooking his little finger around your own and then pressing your thumbs together.</p><p> </p><p>“Of course,” he replies.</p><p> </p><p>-</p>
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